X A Little lagniappe
Jarrett Simoneaux driving the Franklins to their home to asses the damage.
“I love the relationships being built right now,” Cheree said. Gesturing to Jarrett Simoneaux, the boat driver who picked them up to bring them to assess the damage of their home, she continued, “We will never forget this young man who is bringing us to our home.” Simoneaux’s home was spared in the flood, but he came from Donaldsonville to help his neighbors. “I don’t like seeing people hurt, and I want to help people in whatever way I can,” Simoneaux said. Although Simoneaux does not classify himself as a part of the “Cajun Navy,” he is still among the thousands of Cajuns who volunteered their boats and time to help people.
Another way the Franklins said they see God being glorified is in the lack of racial tension and division present since the flooding occurred. “With all of this that is happening, where’s all the racial tension and division?” Cheree asked. The Franklins say they don’t believe it is a coincidence that three and a half weeks after the Baton Rouge police shootings and riots, the floodwaters came. “Everyone kind of wanted to know where we were in the black verses the white [issue].” Cheree and Derrick, both African Americans said, “We don’t fall in either of those [labels]. We’re Christians. We don’t see color. We see souls.”
The Franklins strongly believe that God has already been glorified as the people in the community reach out to one another. “He’s using the church right now to reach out to the community, to be the light that we are supposed to be as the body of Christ,” Derrick said. 22
October 2016 l Baton Rouge Christian Life Magazine